Madubuike is the only absolute must-keep imo. DL that can get sacks from the interior are rare and worth quite a lot. Plus he’s young and constantly getting better. Do what it takes to keep him, we’ve balanced multiple big contracts before. Keep in mind there’s also a possibility we move on from Stanley; he’s been ok but inconsistent this year but is nowhere near prime Stanley and is way overpaid. Wouldn’t surprise me if EDC prefers some kind of 80/20ish FA signing to replace Stanley, but too early to tell. LT’s very important, but Stanley’s contract is also really killing the cap space.
This is a long list, but when you take it 1 by 1 it’s not as bad as you’d think:
- Queen: almost certainly getting paid somewhere else. Gonna suck, but Roquan’s still here and we’re not paying to ILBs. He’s a great player but having Roquan will let someone fill that athletic Will void. We didn’t have a Roquan when Queen was first drafted, and a major reason why he struggled for a while was cuz he was super young, Wink’s scheme is weird, and we expected too much too soon from Queen. He’s always been best at Will where the Mike can lead the defense and let Queen react quickly instead of trying to overthink. Gonna really miss him but having Roquan offsets some of Queen leaving and will expedite his replacement’s development. We’re great at developing LBs.
- Geno: He’s balling. Legit might be a Pro Bowler. Idk if he’ll stay, I’d take him over Williams just for availability reasons. But even if Geno’s gone, we still have Hamilton and Williams, that’s a great safety room. Geno’s been the ball hawk we’ve needed after MP left, so it wouldn’t surprise me if EDC tries to keep him. At this point, Geno’s more valuable than most of the players on the list.
- Clowney: He’s been great. Idk what he’ll do, but he’ll want to maximize his money like he always does. I’m sure he’ll want to test the market and see what the best offer is. He hasn’t been getting a ton of sacks and a track record of underperforming + getting older will make teams hesitant. Plenty of teams are dumb and only care about sacks, which will limit his options a bit. He’ll prob get some interest but he also seems to really like it here so that might come into play. With Ojabo hurt again, wouldn’t surprise me if EDC is willing to overpay or give more guaranteed to keep Clowney.
- Pierce: Aside from Madubuike and Geno, Pierce is the one I really want to keep. Cardinals game isn’t the only game he’s dominated in, he’s been a huge part of the DL for a while. Surprisingly athletic and constantly making plays every game. Big part of the run defense especially. NTs are more replaceable as they’re a less athletic position, so that helps, but I still want to keep Pierce. I’d keep Geno over Pierce cuz his ball hawk skills aren’t easy to replace, and a big run stuffer is much easier to find, but Pierce is 1 of my favs and is 1 of the most important players on the defense.
- Darby and Maulet: Neither have played much recently. Both have been good signings, but idk how much interest they’ll get from other teams. They don’t have much recent tape and teams always want young corners. Darby has an injury history, and he’s from PG County so I’m sure he’ll consider being home in his decision. That helps.
- Van Noy: Hasn’t been here long, but he’s good. Don’t think he’s a total must-keep though, especially since Oweh’s looking great and Clowney might want to stay here cuz we make him look good. KVN’s a good player but it won’t kill the defense if he’s not brought back.
- Malik: Has made some plays and gotten better, but replaceable. Especially since we develop LBs well.
- Ar’Darius: He’s undersized at 5’8 and that’ll be a disadvantage for his market value, plus he hasn’t played much. Always liked him and he’s developing well, but he’s replaceable.
- Rock: He’s done well here, but also hasn’t played much. I’d rather keep him than continue drafting CBs that aren’t ready, but idk how his availability will be next year and I’d def look into other FA options. I like the signing for the peace of mind it brought since the young CBs weren’t looking good, but there’s prob other FA CB options. Not a must-keep.
- Worley: Love this guy, works hard and very likeable. He’s a CB that transitioned to safety cuz he’s older, he’s not someone worth keeping and he’ll turn 30 next year. We already have Hamilton, might be willing to keep Geno, and still have Marcus. That’s at least 2 star safeties, and it’s a position you can draft late. Worley’s best days are behind him and he’s winding down. Would rather find another young corner in FA or the draft.
- Urban: He’s got maybe 2-3 years left, and he’s a depth player. His size is an asset on DL and ST but he doesn’t play a ton, and I’d rather save money to keep Madubuike, and possibly also Geno &/or Clowney. Those 3 are where the cap should go. If it costs some depth players to keep 1 of the most dominant pass-rushing IDLs in his prime, absolutely do it.
- Del’Shawn: Improved a lot lately and seems to have had a nice offseason, but replaceable. We have a lot of young LBs and also don’t want to spend a ton when Roquan’s already getting a huge, well-deserved bag. Del’Shawn was 1 of my favs from offseason, but he’s basically never played so he’s a future practice squad candidate.
- Trayvon: He’s here cuz he’s Lamar’s cousin. If that’s what it takes to keep Lamar happy, then we’ll give him something reasonable that’s also not an overpay for a depth CB that never played. Lowkey I’d rather have Lamar’s family here to help keep him energized and dialed in than a lot of the replaceable depth players. As a player Trayvon’s basically never played but he also takes up like zero cap space, so sure I’ll keep him considering it costs basically nothing, and keeps Lamar happy.
It’s now or never
I’d be surprised if we don’t retain over 50% of this list
I don’t really think that we’re going to have a mass exodus of players that will follow McDonald wherever he goes. Even when super popular DC Rex Ryan left for the Jets, only a few players followed him and none were huge losses or hurt us.
There’s only like 2 maybe 3 guys on this list that are above replacement level lol
Yeah but also think about having 7 comp picks or something next draft lol. I think Ravens should tag Madu, extend if they can, trade him if that can’t, or keep him for one extra year knowing the tag. Likely Queen, Stone, and most of the corners are gone. I could see us bringing back 1 of the corners, maybe ardarius or worley, and I see Clowney, Pierce, and Urban as guys they could definately bring back on vet deals if they would like to. For whatever reason I see KVN getting a Houston type deal.
It’s all good, they’re gonna leave with a ring and we can replace most of these guys besides Mads. Clowney and a couple others might hang around for another year or two as well
Thoughts on how to retain?
$20m in cap space next year, increase factored in, 7 draft picks.
The biggest restructure available is Stanley and not sure its worth that given his performance.
Lastly all these players are signficant contibutirs playing well earning upgrades in pay.
Macdonald isn’t leaving, he has family in Baltimore and already has huge ties with BIscotti and Harbaugh and even Jim in Ann Arbor if anything the realistic chance if Jim leaves he goes to Michigan but its turmoil. Macdonald probably already spoken with EDC, Ozzie and Steve and even John about being the next HC at Baltimore, why would he want to risk his career with a awful franchise with terrible history when he can just stay and have what he’s familiar with. The Media is going to absolute push the narrative but imo it wont happen. He’s the next heir.